If there was any coaching staff in America fully aware of what South Carolina is walking into this weekend in Greenville, it’s the one currently occupying those offices.
The Gamecocks travel up Interstate 95 this weekend for a road game at East Carolina full of staff members who know exactly what to expect up at Dowdy-Ficklen.
Which is why every coach meeting with the media this week has issued the same sort of caveat.
“We have to win a lot more games before we’re even in a situation to compare group of five or power five. We know this is going to be one of the hardest games the coaches or players have ever been in. the environment is going to be electric,” Marcus Satterfield said.
“I played their once when we were at Temple, and it’s one of the toughest places to play a college football game. It’s going to be packed; it’s going to be hot. It’s a 12 o’clock kickoff and they’re licking their chops. We have to go in there and be prepared for one of the toughest things we’ve been in in our life.”
Satterfield has three experiences playing ECU—one on the road—but both Shane Beamer, Torrian Gray and Clayton White have experience not only playing the Pirates but know what is waiting on the road in their stadium.
Beamer and Gray were both on a staff at Virginia Tech, fresh off a win against eventual national champion Ohio State, which wound up losing to ECU while White was part of a NC State staff going up to Greenville and lost 33-30 in 2016.
So all of them know on the right day a team like ECU could jump up and bite them despite a 33-19 loss to App State last week to start the season.
"Don’t pay attention to that (game). The team I expect to see Saturday is the one that beat SMU convincingly at the end of last season. The team we expect to see Saturday and I know we’ll see is the same one that beat the University of North Carolina three times since 2013, the same one that’s beaten NC State two times since 2013, the same one that’s beaten Virginia Tech two times since 2014,” Beamer said.
“We know what we’re walking into on Saturday. If we don’t, we’ll figure it out pretty quick.”
With South Carolina the first SEC team to travel to ECU this century, Beamer said this is being talked about as one of the biggest home games in ECU’s history and the Gamecocks need to know that going into it.
We know it’ll be a hostile environment. We have to have a great week of preparation because it’s a big challenge. That’s not just coach speak. This is a really good football team we’re playing and we’re going into a hostile atmosphere knowing we’re going to see their best,” he said.
“As a competitor, that’s what we want. We want teams at their very best and go into opposing team’s stadiums and we’re excited about the opportunity.”
South Carolina spent the bulk of Tuesday and Wednesday’s practices emphasizing to not take ECU lightly, and will likely do the same in the 48 hours leading up to Saturday’s kick off.
“It’s one of those great east coast environments on this side of the country. East Carolina is a great place to go watch football as far as atmosphere and fans,” White said. “You have to respect that. We’ll make sure our guys have a healthy respect for that program.”
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